Checking In

Today in class many students were lost, so this post is an attempt to clarify where we are and where we are going and a plan to make the weeks go a bit more smoothly.

In the 9-9:50 class we read a bit from 50 Essays, Gloria Anzaldua's "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" (33-45).        
It was wonderful hearing the language read so poetically in Spanish (smile). Homework was to once again, complete the reading assignments, which was to read: They Say--Read Preface and Introduction (xiii-17).

Don't worry about reading Hacker in advance. I will give you a lecture and then you can read the section in the book. I don't know if this will make your task easier, but I hope so (smile).

Twice Weekly Meetings
In the MW classes, it can feel rushed and overwhelming if you do not stay on top of the reading. I am not asking you to do a lot of writing. We are still completing the first essay.

Our focus has been for the past three weeks on thesis sentences and essay structure. We have also looked at how to develop ideas to write about. We have not talked about conclusions much or transitions, nor do I expect you to be an expert with connecting ideas or transitioning between ideas. 

What I expect is that you keep up with the reading, write your short summaries for each essay and note any questions you might have.

We touched on works cited and in-text citations a little bit. Don't worry, you will be an expert by the end of the semester. When we go over a concept in class from Hacker, your job is to read the section more thoroughly. We used Hacker to talk about each other's essays today (38). In the 1-2:50 p.m. class I had students put stars where the writing worked and question marks where the writing was unclear.

We didn't have a lot of time in this class, so students were not able to have lengthy conversations about their questions, but hopefully they were able to share. Once again, there are many students who are no keeping up. Twice weekly classes are accelerated. You have to keep up, if not you will get lost.

I make a list of where we are going for each class or the plan and write it on the board. I will start posting the plan in advance beginning next week tomorrow (Friday). It will just recap the syllabus with more details.

I will continue to write a reflection after each class with action items or assignments for each class, which will state the reality--that is, what really happened. For the 9-9:50 a.m. class. I will have a separate Cyber-Assignment post link for you to eliminate confusion since we meet daily MTWTh.

In the 1-2:50 p.m. class, there were handouts: The Initial Planning Sheet, the Literature Circle guidelines, Socratic Seminar, Leo: Thesis Statements, and The Happiness Project Group Starter Kit. I collected the Starter Kits after the first group meetings. Students can print their own copies. There are 2-3 other handouts we didn't get to: 3-Part Thesis, Spider Chart and two other invention worksheets, one for outlines, the other for mapping. I made another handout available, which is a copy of the first section of Writing with a Thesis. It is great practice on thesis sentences, what they are and how to recognize good ones. By Thursday, the 9-9:50 a.m. class will have these handouts too.

We reviewed in both MW classes (1-2:50 and 4-5:50) Tips and Suggestions, Frequently Asked Questions, and in groups students reviewed Topic 1: Your first set of resolutions. I have never taught this book before, so the plan is organic, in that we will adjust the activities to make them work in an academic setting. The 9-9:50 a.m. class will have its Happiness Group Meeting on Wednesday-Thursday. It will depend on time.

I told students to start with summaries of the assigned readings in Rubin (Lit. Circle), to talk start each gathering with conversation about any specific aspects of the chapters each member of the group wants to share with the others in the group. The next step is to begin developing Resolutions. The goal here is for students in the group to have take aways--at least 3-5 resolutions for their personal Happiness Project.

The Happiness Project Assignment is multifaceted: 1. An essay connected to Rubin's book, 2. the student's selection based on a person who is happy, 3. and lastly the social entrepreneur, a person whose service brings happiness. 4. The poster presentation pulls all these elements together in one document with different elements for general audiences who have not studied happiness as we have (smile). The goal is hopefully to convince such audiences that without a happiness project one cannot achieve one's personal goals/objectives with joy or a sense of contentment and peace. The Happiness Project allows us to lead an intentional life, not that we can control others or all circumstances, but the plan will help us stay focused.

If life is a book we have to read, then we can read the book with a pencil in hand and engage it in discussion -agreeing and disagreeing, or we can passively let the words and concepts wash over us. The assignment is there, life is given to us, what we can control is our response to it. We are going to get older, time is going to pass, what we can control is how we use the time. Are we going to determine what happens in these moments or are we going to let others tell us what to do with our lives?

How can anyone tell us what we want to change in our lives for the better? Why would be give this power to another? Of course we can ask for guidance, but the choice, the choice or action steps are ours to determine. The Happiness Project outlines Rubin's choices. She is a woman, married, successful, married, a mother, well-off, "happy." One might not be able to relate to her life, but this is not the point. Read about her 1-year journey. Your journey will differ. Many of you are still living at home, some of you are not even 18. Regardless of age, sex, point in your life that you are at which brought you here to COA, you are here.

Take the Happiness Project Seriously. It is a major part of this class and your grade (smile).

50 Essays
The short essays 1-2 (250-500 words) are practice essays. We use these essays to practice concepts, like for the essay on Literacy and Freedom, we are practicing developing thesis sentences, familiarizing ourselves with MLA for essays and both in-text and works cited pages.

What else? Buy the books and read them. If you do the reading and keep reading logs with annotations in the books, you will stay on top of the class. We do not have time to do the reading in class, as we have done  this week.

Homework for the 1-2:50 p.m. class is to complete the essay for Monday. Bring it to class typed. The essay can be about 4 paragraphs:

1. Introduction (which we reviewed in Hacker (26)

2-3: and perhaps 2 body paragraphs and a conclusion. Each character or subject can have his or her own  paragraph, followed by a

4. Conclusion

The other homework for this class for all students is to catch up on the reading. Read ahead, esp. in The Happiness Project. Finish the book, then when your group meets you will be free to just focus on discussion and your own Happiness Project.

Independent Book Project
As soon as you complete the book, start thinking about what book you'd like to read and let me see it for approval.

Homework for all classes
Homework for all students is to complete your essay and turn it into me electronically by Monday, Feb. 11. Email to coasabirenglish1A@gmail.com Include your IPS with the essay. Do not forget a works cited page. Paste the essay and its components along with attaching it.

2 items in the 1 Word document:
Essay
IPS